


Princess in the Tower

by Mhoram



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Bounty Hunter Chase, Dragons, Evil! Kendall, F/M, Farmer Riley, Gen, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Magic, Princess Shelby, Royalty, Squire Tyler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-22
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mhoram/pseuds/Mhoram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long ago in a far away kingdom, an evil sorceress plots to rule. She kidnaps the princess and locks her away in a tower, guarded by a fire breathing dragon. A knight rides to her rescue, will he make it in time? Along the way he meets new allies and dangerous foes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

Once Upon a time there lived a princess, she lived with her family in a castle. She had everything she could want. She had everything, except friends. She would often spend long hours up in her chamber, lonely. Sometimes attended by servants.

One day her mother came down with a terrible illness. It left her bedridden for weeks.  The king used every options available to make sure his wife got the best of care. The best physicians worked day and night to ensure that the queen lived but nothing worked. 

Her illness grew worse and worse by the day. She lay there unable to move, wasting away. Finally one day, she closed her eyes for the last time. A few years past before the king remarried again. By this time the princess had grown up into a beautiful young woman. 

The woman who her father remarried, her new stepmother. Didn't appear to be anything like her mother. She was vain and cruel, she appeared to harbor no love for the king or his daughter. The only love she seemed to have was for power. She valued that over anything else. Soon after settling in she immediately dismissed all the servants. Forcing the Princess to work. 

She would often subject the princess to cruel punishments if she had failed to carry out the tasks given to her. Day by day, the princess grew weary of her life and sought a better life outside the walls of the castle. Far away from her stepmother's cruelty. Over the year, her father had fallen ill and had been unable to rule. His wife, the new queen took over subjecting the country to harsh taxes. The princess knew she had to plan her escape soon. She made plans to run away as far as she could. She packed what items remained to her, and then she reached under her bed and retrieved a special item. A necklace that belonged to her mother. She placed it around her neck and made sure it was well hidden. 

She took one last look at her room, the place that had been her home and her prison for many years. Then she ran and never looked back. 


	2. On the Run

Shelby raced through the forest as fast as she could. She didn't stop to rest. The queen would be sending men to look for her as soon as she noticed she was gone. She stumbled and fell into the dirt and mud. Her hair was a mess, and she hadn't thought to bring any food with her.

All around her the sky grew darker, the sun was fading behind the trees. Shelby took a few more steps before collapsing on the ground. She couldn't move.

_Maybe it's better if I just lie here._

It was preferable to what the queen would do to her. She winced at the thought.  Darkness crept in all around her until she saw the light of the moon high above the trees. Sudden movement nearby made her jump, she sighed with relief to find it was just the trees rustling .

Spotting moving out of the corner of her eye. Shelby got to her feet and began to run again. She raced towards the shelter of the trees hoping to lose the stranger. She ducked behind a tree and waited.

The footsteps grew closer and closer. Her heart was beating like it was about to burst out of her chest. She bit down on her lip to prevent any sound from escaping her lips. She knew what would happen if she got caught. She would get taken back to the queen. Shivers traveled up her spine as the footsteps showed no sign of receding.

"Hello, Is anyone there?"

Shelby froze, it wasn't a voice she recognized but the stranger sounded young. He couldn't have been any older than her. Shelby began to relax a bit, she hesitated. She couldn't risk revealing herself, not when the queen was out looking for her. There was no guarantee this stranger would sell her out in exchange for gold or a pardon. 

If she stayed put, he might give up and go somewhere else. She closed her eyes, and waited for him to leave. She listened for his footsteps but she didn't hear any. She made her way past the trees, going deeper and deeper into the forest. As she walked, she stepped on a fallen twig. She winced as she heard the sound of the broken branch. If it was audible to her then she could imagine that anyone nearby would have heard it too. Before she had taken three steps, a dog came racing up towards her barking. She was trapped. 


	3. Discovery

Hearing his dog bark, Riley ran to check it out. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a girl dressed in a pink gown, on the ground backed up in front of the tree. He laughed and stroked the dogs head.

"Sit" he ordered. The dog backed away from the frightened girl and obeyed. He had stopped growling. Riley nodded and turned back towards the girl who was half hidden behind a tree. He couldn't make out her face; it was covered partly by the tree. He made his way closer, she shrank from him.

"Stay back." she said, her voice shaking.

Riley looked around unsure, "Are you alright, I want to help." She peaked out from behind the tree, still unsure. Riley gasped and stumbled backwards. He fell to the ground, too shocked to stand.

"You-Y" He found that he could not get the words out. It was the princess; there was no mistaking her profile now. The queen was hunting her; news had already started to spread throughout the kingdom.

She turned and started to run, he grabbed her arm. "Wait, I want to help"

She paused and turned to face him. "How can you help me?"

He hesitated, "You've been running all night, and you must be tired."

She said nothing, only stared at him for a moment, as if trying decide if he was worth her trust. Her gaze never left his face.

He continued, "My family and I, we don't have much but we're willing to help."

She still stared at him, "How do I know you won't turn me in."

Riley sighed "At least stay one night, then you can be on your way." 

She looked into his eyes, "Promise me, that you won't turn me over to the queen."

"I promise."

She gripped his arm tight and pulled him in closer, her eyes clear and focused. "Promise me"

"I promise." Riley said firmly.

She let go off him and he let her towards the direction of his family's farm. They passed by the farm animals, as they made there way towards his home. He motioned for Shelby to stay hidden as he went to knock on the door. When no one answered, he opened the door find the house empty. It wasn't unusual, his brother must be out by the stables and his mother was more than likely in the kitchen. 

He crept inside and made his way to his small room. Shelby followed after him as quiet as she could. He handed her some of his clothing. "I don't know if this will fit or not, but."

Shelby nodded and Riley left and closed the door behind him. She slipped out of her dress, it was torn and dirty in some places. She had been running for hours in the forest. It was relief to get out of the constricting clothing. She slipped into the shirt, and put on the pants. After she gotten on the boots, she walked around in them. She was disappointed when she couldn't find a mirror anywhere. Back at the castle, there had been over a dozen mirrors all over the castle. She liked to see how she looked from time to time. 

When Riley entered again, he gave her a friendly smile. Shelby smiled back. She was putting her trust in him, this absolute stranger who she did not know. There was something about him, he had a good and honest face. She doubted if he ever told lie in his life.

He extended a hand out to her, "I'm Riley."

She shook it. "Shelby"

He scratched his head, "Is it Shelby or Princess Shelby?" 

Shelby laughed "Just Shelby."

He sat on his bed, and watched her. "So, what made you run away?"

She turned away from him "It's a long story."

He nodded, she did not want to tell him at least not yet. It was too personal and he did not know her at all. She would tell him when she was ready.

He heard his mother calling out to him, informing him that dinner was ready. He nodded at Shelby and got up to leave. She followed closely after him.

When he entered, he found his mother crouched over a boiling pot of soup. She looked up and to see Riley and Shelby standing behind him.

"Who is this Riley?"

Riley swallowed, he disliked having to lie. Especially to his mother. Before he said anything, Shelby spoke.

"I'm Laura" she did not want to use her real name. "I was looking for a place to stay, I have nowhere else to go."

Riley looked from Shelby to his mother, gauging his mother's reaction. His mother nodded "We can offer some shelter." She motioned for Shelby to sit, "Come eat." 

Shelby gave her a smile of gratitude. "Thank you, very much."

Riley sat at the table and started to eat slowly. He was aware that Shelby had grown up in castle, used to people with manners. He didn't want to look like animal. He watched with surprise as Shelby drank down the soup quickly. He felt embarrassed on her behalf.

She picked up a nearby loaf of bread and tore it into pieces. Chewing the pieces carefully.

"So where are you from?" his mother asked.

Riley swallowed and looked at Shelby uncertainly.

She frowned, "My parents died when I was young, I don't remember them. I've been on my own every since."

Her mother gave a small gasp but said nothing. Riley cleared his throat and attempted to change the subject.

"So where's Matt?" Riley had been wondering where his brother had been since he had arrived.

"He's out by the stables tending the horses. He should be back soon."

Riley nodded, and turned back to his bowl barely touched. After the meal, Riley escorted Shelby to his room.

"I'm sure you're used to better, but this is all we have for now."

He offered her his bed, but she refused. He insisted that she sleep in his bed and that he didn't mind. She refused, she didn't want to inconvenience him.

After a long argument, they had both decided to sleep in the bed. Riley fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. Shelby however, tossed in turned, she was unable to sleep. She was afraid that if she slept she would dream. She did not want to dream, she did not want to think about the queen and what she would do to her if she caught her. She shuddered and closed her eyes trying to rest, but rest would not come.

Moments passed before a loud bang, roused her from her resting. Riley sprang up and ran towards the door. The banging grew louder and more insistent. He returned moments later, and informed her that the queen's men where outside demanding entrance. His mother was speaking with them now.

His guts twisted as he thought of the things they might to his family. He swallowed his fear and whisper into her ear.

"You have to get away from here."

She shook her head "I won't leave you."

Riley sighed "Then hide and quickly."

 


	4. Elusive

Shelby crouched hidden in the barn, the guards were moving all around. She began to hear noises from the house. The noises grew louder and louder, she covered her ears as things fell. The guards were shouting now, looking around more places. They were desperate, they knew the price of failure. Failure meant death at the hands of the queen herself. A fate they wanted to avoid. Minutes passed before the guards finally up and left. They were sure to search the surrounding area. She waited a bit before, leaving the haystack and entering the house. She saw that almost everything had been overturned or smashed and broken. She bent down to help Riley's mother pick of the pieces.

"This is all my fault" Shelby said sadly, "I should have just left."  
  
Riley came over to her and put an comforting hand on her shoulder. "No, don't say that. If you had kept running they would have caught you."

She nodded and went back to helping Riley's mother. Not everything had been broken, some things still were intact. They had been left untouched by the soldiers. Shelby looked up to see the door open again. A tall stranger, who looked to be about Shelby's age walked in. She recognized him as Riley's brother Matt. Their faces definitely shared similarities.

He looked surprised by the amount of damage the soldiers had done. "I'm sorry, this is my fault." she said ashamed. "They would never have come if I hadn't run here."

Riley helped her off the ground and looked her straight in the eyes. "Listen, Shelby none of this is your fault. Those soldiers are nothing but bullies. They don't need a reason to harass us."

Riley's mother looked up with surprise, her voice shook as she spoke. "Shelby? The princess?" She stood shocked. She knelt on the ground before her.

Shelby blushed embarrassed. "There's no need for that get up. You don't need to bow."

Riley's mother got up off the ground and nodded. "My apologizes, I didn't know."

"I'm sorry, I had to lie about my identity. I couldn't risk being turned in by the soldiers."

Riley's mother nodded understanding.

She turned back to Riley, "I should go, I'm only putting you in danger if I stay."

 "I'm in danger whether you stay or not. If you leave you'll be killed."

Shelby shook her head, "The queen wants me alive, she does not want to kill me."

Riley eye's widened "How do you know?"

"She hates me, I have no idea why. She wants something from me."

Riley touched her arm gently, "Please, stay."

She looked at him for a moment longer, sighed and then said "Alright, just one more day."

 

Kendall sat alone in her chambers, she gazed deep into her mirror. Reaching out with her magic to find the princess. She hadn't been getting anywhere and her men had been no help. They had returned to her empty headed. They had lost track of the princess. She sat on her throne staring down at them with her violet eyes. Her eyes matched the her dress. She cut them off as they were in the middle of there reports.

"There is no sign-"

She stared down at them in annoyance "Well, then look harder."

"She is-"

She cut him off again, but not with words this time. She hurled a ball of fire at him, setting him ablaze. The men around him stood silent and watched as the man burned to death right before there very eyes. They were silent then she spoke again. She focused her gaze on them and they cowered before her begging mercy. Pleading with her.

She snorted and turned on her heels and walked away in the disgust. They had been no use to her, she knew that now. She walked towards her chamber and shut the door behind her. She walked out onto the balcony and looked out and down on her kingdom. The outside air was refreshing and cool against her skin. It gave her some comfort at least.

She went back to her room and sat down on her bed. The doors to her room opened, and a servant walked in. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance at the intrusion. She stood up, and glared at him. She said nothing only waited for him to speak. 

"My queen" he bowed to her formally. "I think I may have found a solution to your runaway princess."

 Kendall raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"There is a man, a skilled tracker who can find almost anyone."

She crossed her arms in front of herself, "Where may I find him?"

The servant handed her a map and she examined it closely. He pointed out where the bounty hunter might be. Kendall strode past her servant and made her way down to the ground floor.

"Ready my horse."

 

 


End file.
